Professional Services 2024: RUTH ‘PAIGE’ CLAY

In January, Clay became global sales and client engagement leader for Marsh McLennan in addition to being a senior partner for its Mercer subsidiary. In her new role, she develops sales and client engagement strategies for the Fortune 500 professional services firm’s four businesses, which collectively have more than 85,000 employees in about 130 countries; Mercer is one of those businesses.

Prior to joining Mercer in 2011, Clay was senior vice president of global human resources at Encore Capital Group and chief people officer for Capital One Bank. She also was vice president of operations for Capital One, running large customer service centers in Virginia and Florida.

Clay serves on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board, which she chaired in 2020, and also on the board for the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs at Virginia Tech.

Clay has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is certified by the Society for Human Resources Management as a senior professional in human resources, is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and earned an NACD Directorship Certification.